NC Retirement System Protests Exxon Executives'
Pay

May 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The North Carolina
retirement system will not support the re-election of five
directors who serve on Exxon Mobil Corp.'s compensation
committee, the state's treasurer said Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, State Treasurer
Richard Moore said that the state’s retirement system is
acting out against Exxon because, “As shareholders, we are
outraged that executives are using soaring gas prices,
which are hitting consumers at the pump, to fatten their
own wallets. The excessive pay packages, like that seen at
Exxon Mobil, diminish shareholder value and are evidence of
policies that fail to generate long term value for
shareholders.”

Lee Raymond, Exxon’s former chairman who recently
retired, received a total package of almost $400 million
including salary bonus, stock options and a one-year $1
million consulting arrangement, according to the AP. In
response to Raymond’s retirement plan and motorists’
soaring gas prices, the US House Energy and Commerce
Committee has asked Exxon for detailed information about
Raymond’s retirement package, calling it an “exorbitant
payout.”

Though the North Carolina retirement system has a
relatively small holding in the company compared to Exxon’s
worldwide shares, which are about six billion, Moore, who
is considering running for governor in 2008, said he thinks
this boycott will affect Exxon because the system’s shares
make up the single largest holding in the state’s public
equity fund — 11 million shares, according to the AP.